The Choices We Make
by Khaos Infinity
Summary: The choices made in one’s own life simply does not affect just one being. It affects those close to that being as well. When a rouge experiment is found by team Star Fox, Fox learns that the choices he makes can have dire consequences.
1. Seeking Elements

**The Choices We Make**

**Disclaimer: No, I do not own Star Fox or any of the Nintendo characters mentioned in this story, in any way, shape, or form. All I own is Ebon, other custom characters, and the plot.**

**AN: This story takes place after Star Fox command, ending number one Fox and Krystal. Please read and review! I hate Panther Caruso just to be clear, so on with the story.**

**Summary: The choices made in one's own life simply does not affect just one being. It affects those close to that being as well. When a rouge experiment is found by team Star Fox three months after the events in Star Fox Command, Fox learns firsthand that the choices he makes can have dire consequences for those close to him.**

Chapter 1: Seeking Elements

Running. So much blasted running. How long had this gone on? How had things come down to this? Why had it come down to him being sought out like prey, a fresh morsel for the pack that had been chasing him for what felt like an eternity. His breathing hitched, ragged pants escaping him with each staggered movement. His vision clouded and the steady pitter-patter of rain quickened as a loud clap of thunder echoed throughout the ebony-bathed city of Corneria.

His pursuers were rushing behind him, their heavy footfalls sounding on the pavement over his quickened stagger. He slipped, a light cry of surprise sounding from him before he instinctively shot his arm forward, and used it to launch himself back into a standing position. He heard the grunts and calls from the heavily-armed group pursuing him, yet he paid them no mind as he continued on in his fearful sprint. Pale blue eyes widened in shock at the sight of a large, chain-linked fence before his ebony-furred visage grew to be a mask of sheer anger and determination.

"No where to run now, freak." Came the voice of a large and well-built pitbull behind him. Slowly turning around with an ice-cold glare, the sable-furred lupine let his hackles rise as a deep growl began to form within his broad chest. His ears stood alert and the fur on the back of his thick neck stood on edge as a slight gust of wind began to swirl around him.

"I promise you, that I'll be the one to rip the life away from your body." The young wolf hissed quietly as his eyes narrowed. His whole body seemed to tense and in a mere moment, just as lightening crackled down from the heavens, he was gone in a mere swirl of wind.

"Dammit!" The pitbull slammed his fist into the building beside him, cracking the cement loudly as most of his team visibly winced behind him. "That damn punk got away again!" Just as he was about to bring his other fist down on the lid of a trashcan, a loud beeping resounded from along his belt. Picking up his radio, he lifted it to his muzzle with a deep frown. "This Bennet…"

"Have you captured our elusive wolf, Mr. Bennet?" Came the cool voice from the radio. "You know it won't do us or Corneria, any well to have hi, running about, don't you?" His tone seemed to change, almost as if he were addressing a child.

"Of course I know!" The pitbull's voice rose and his own hackles rose in a deepened growl. "With how much I've studied this kid, I even know about his damn sex life!"

"As wonderful as your rather…questionable knowledge about the boy is, it does not change the fact that I need to know if he was apprehended or not." The voice crackled over the communications link, before suddenly deepening as the speaker took on a menacing tone. "Do you have him or not?"

The growling within the canine's throat quickly ceased as a large lump had formed within his neck. "N-n…no sir." His crew stiffened behind him, a few of them shuffling around nervously at the sudden weakened tone of their commanding officer.

A momentary silence dominated the alley, before the voice spoke once again; this time holding a hard edge to it. "Then I suggest that you make sure to capture him within the next week, Mr. Bennet…our experiment must be found, after all." The voice, obviously masculine paused for a minute before a light chuckle sounded from the radio; causing the canine to tremble fearfully. "I'd hate to tell your wife and children that you died in the line of work…understood?"

Even though the detached voice was unable to see it, the hulking pitbull gave a weak nod and whispered weakly, "Understood, by your command director. Bennet out."

--

The way she walked, the way she smiled, the way she moved, and each of her mannerisms caused him to become enraptured. He knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he truly loved the cerulean vixen walking ahead of him. The only problem was that she had been less than friendly towards him, ever since they defeated the arpathroid (sp?) threat. Yes, she joined the team, and yes, she spoke to him, but it was all business and nothing more when it came to the two of them. She made sure of that.

He lost count of the many times he apologized to her, each on ending with a slight nod on her part. It was infuriating! Here she was, right in front of him. So close, and yet he couldn't even be with her. Was this his punishment? Having her so close, but being unable to attain the vixen who had captured his heart from the moment he saw her? Maybe he did deserve it, He did force her off of the team, after all. Still, she had already broken his heart by joining with Star wolf and starting a relationship with Panther, a choice that often caused his heart to ache whenever he thought of it.

She couldn't even call him by his name anymore, always referring to him by sir or captain. Hell, even a spiteful comment would've been better than the cold and emotionless titles she used with him, which bought up another question. Did she truly love him…did she harbor feelings for Fox McCloud within her heart or was it all just a game…one meant to torture his soul?

Looking behind her, the cerulean vulpine tilted her head, pretending to look over Fox's shoulders as his thoughts dwelled heavily on her mind. Turning away and giving a false laugh to a joke told by Slippy toad, she let her head lower slightly, following the cracked sidewalks of the recently rebuilt Corneria. It ha been three months, three painful months for her and for Fox. She knew how he felt and she knew of her own feelings for him, so what was keeping her from rekindling the flame that was still burning brightly between the two? Pride. That was it. She would not come crawling back, no matter what. She was raised as a warrior and warriors do not crawl back pitifully. If he could just show her, just physically do something to express his love for her then just maybe she could take him back. True she did use Panther. After all, there was no possible way she could even consider to be with such an egotistical buffoon, yet what did it cost her? Fox's heartache, that much was easily seen, but just how deep did the ache go? What she felt was staggering, causing her head to hurt slightly, yet she didn't alert anyone to it, nor did she speak with Fox. The team was out for a night on the town. It was time to relax and enjoy the more simple pleasures of life.

_**Swimf!**_

A loud sound echoed throughout the street they were on and a tall, well-built, ebony lupine stumbled out of one of the alleyways, bumping into Falco before falling to the ground in a crumpled heap.

"Hey! Watch where the hell you're-" The avian had cut himself off as he saw the lupine lying on the ground unconscious, crimson liquid coating his dusk-colored fur as the neon lights bathed him with their intense glow. "Holy shit…"

Slippy crouched down, reaching over to feel for a pulse on the young wolf's wrist. Finally finding a weak one, after a few moments he spoke. "He's alive…but just barely." He glanced at Fox, tilting his head inquiringly as he awaited his orders.

The vulpine leader frowned deeply, still curious from the sound that accompanied the wolf's entrance. He glanced at his teammates, taking note of Slippy's quizzical gaze, Falco's thoughtful expression, and Krystal's state of worry. "…I don't know…"

Instantly snapping around, the azure vixen stared directly into Fox's emerald eyes, her own cerulean hues pleading with him as she moved closer. "Fox…" It was the first time in a long time that she had called him that. "Please. We can't leave him like this." She swallowed the lump that had been forming in her throat as she felt a few stray thoughts from the unconscious mind of the lupine. "He'll die."

He sighed softly, knowing that he had a difficult choice to make. Take a stranger into his ship that was close by and endanger his team with an unknown being, or let an innocent suffer and die miserably. His eyebrows lowered. The answer was obvious. "He's coming with us." Without any protest from the rest of his team, the swift vulpine strode over to the lupine and lifted him off of the ground ,walking towards the direction of his ship. He looked over his shoulder at his assembled team, the night of merriment that had been planned now being completely forgotten as he murmured. "We should get him to the medical bay…and soon."

He strode towards the outskirts of Corneria purposefully, unable to see the look of admiration directed to him by the azure vixen who held his very heart in her hand.

_--_

_So what do you think? Like it? Love it? Hate it? _


	2. Clandestine Struggles

**Chapter 2:**

**Clandestine Struggles**

_It was a bright day. The birds were chirping. The children were laughing. It was blue skies and sunshine. Such a marvelous day it seemed to be. The five year-old lupine had a great day in class. He made a new friend, didn't catch cooties from any of the little girls and his parents took him out for an early lunch. Yes, life was good. Maybe too good to be true._

_He was in the living room, playing with his favorite tank as he and his father played war with his collection of soldier figurines. The child was delighted to see his father's smile and to hear his laughter. His mother walked in, observing the two of them with a gaze of amusement. "Look at my two boys." She had a proud tone in her voice, yet at the same time it was slightly mocking to her ebony-furred husband. _

_Father and son seemed like they were so much alike, short and trim ebony fur, sharp ears, and pale blue eyes. It seemed like the pup was a clone of his father, even if he did begin to inherit some personality traits from his mother. He was definitely a chip off the old block._

_The quiet play continued, sounds of the family's laughter echoing within the house as day crept into night._

"_Alright Ronnie, time to get ready for bed." The mother cooed softly as she easily lifted her son off of the ground. His father chuckled quietly and moved over to the pair, kissing each of their cheeks before allowing himself a lingering look at his wife. Husband and wife's tails interlocked with one another, before the front door was suddenly split open and flooded by several blue and silver-clad figures._

_At the front of the group stood a tall, yellow-eyed panther with a couple of scars set upon his cheeks. He smiled arrogantly as he pointed to the left, letting one half of the group move into the house completely while the right side remained behind him. "We'll be taking him, now."_

_NO!_

_--_

His eyelids snapped up and crystalline blue eyes darted about fearfully as he awoke. He glanced around cautiously, unable to tell where he was. All he knew was that it was night time due to the ebony shade of sky outside the large window. As his breathing began to calm and his beating heart began to ease, he studied his surroundings with a calm and collected state of mind. One that had regretfully imbedded within him during his years of being a controlled experiment.

Syringes, blood, bandages, medicine, and the steady beat of a heart monitor told the ebony wolf that he was in a medical bay. The question was, who's medical bay? He put his arms down on the plush mattress, just now noticing that he had a set of stitches along both of his forearms, as well as a few stitches along his right cheek. He poked at them for a moment, before wincing slightly. "Bitch…"

His ears twitched slightly as he heard the dull thud of footsteps heading towards him. As the doors opened he cocked his head to the side, a slender eyebrow rising in mild confusion as a robot entered with it's visor upon his bandaged form. 

Instantly allowing his combat training to kick in, he leapt from the bed and slammed his right fist into the chest cavity of the android. Not stopping to look back at his fallen foe, he sprinted down the hallway, not even bothering with the self-conscious feel of sprinting in only a pair of white boxers. With each turn that he took within the metal maze his eyes darkened and a faint growl began to slowly grow within him. The fur on the back of his neck stood on end as he heard his footsteps echoing off of the metal floor and his eyes darted from left to right, looking for any form of escape.

"Where the hell am I!?" He smashed his fist into a wall when he came to a stop at a four way intersection. He looked down each hallway, his slender eyebrows lowering with each passing moment. "Instincts Ebon…instincts." He moved to the right hall, only to come face to face with a toad walking towards him. Instantly speeding up, the ebony lupine hopped onto his left foot and sent his right into the toad's side, causing the amphibian to careen into the wall with a dull thud and a groan of pain.

With no time to stop, he ran onward. His breath hitched within his throat as he stepped into a large room, only to be knocked to the side from a fist colliding with the side of his head. He rolled with the blow and moved into a crouching position to see an emerald-eyed fox glaring at him along with a deep blue avian.

Moving into a standing position, he let his head tilt towards the side and cracked his neck loudly. "Try that while I'm looking…" He raised both arms and spread his feet a bit, smirking coolly as the avian was the first one to move towards him, with the fox not too far behind him. Oh, was he going to enjoy this.

--

The cerulean vixen instantly perked up as a fresh wave of powerful emotions assaulted her casual state of mind. Both paws instantly moved to her temple's rubbing them in an attempt to soothe her frazzled nerves, while trying to sift through each emotion. Extreme anger and sheer determination caused her to stagger as she desperately moved in an attempt to calm down the onslaught of feeling. Her eyes suddenly widened as she felt pain coming from Fox…her fox.

She sprinted down the hallway, just in time to see her love interest and his companion being sent towards the ground and skidding across it. She moved over to the vulpine's side and pulled him into a sitting position, looking over to his assailant with a soft gasp.

He was bleeding profusely, his bandages having been torn while his stitches tore with each movement of his smooth muscles. His blood pooled around his feet and his eyes held a feral undertone as he let his hackles rise in a snarl of warning. "Tell me where I am, or you can end up just like them."

It was then that Slippy stumbled into the large room, as the rest of the team rose. Each member of Star Fox took a fighting stance except for the vixen. She slowly walked between her team and the sable-furred combatant.

Fox instantly stiffened before voicing his objection. "Krystal do-…" The objection soon died on his lips at the warning glare he received from the azure vulpine before she turned to face the wolf with her own look of determination. "Trust me Fox…for once, just trust me," she whispered faintly, thinking that her love had not heard her, but he had.

He felt his heart churn at her words, yet he gave the slightest incline of his head in silent appeasement of her request. He watched with baited breath as she stopped near the wolf, looking him directly in the eye. He knew where this was going, but why did he have such a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach?

--

A light prod. What the hell was that? It only happened as soon as the vixen came near him. His eyes widened and his body tensed as he knew exactly what she was doing. "Stay out!" His voice carried within the large ship as both paws moved to his head, gripping it tightly as he forced her out of his mind.

The young heroine had stumbled back, gasping sharply at the force of the lupine's blunt defense. Her head was swimming and she felt as if she would collapse at any moment, only to feel one of Fox's arms around her slender waist. "Are you alright?" His voice had softened and he looked down at her in concern, causing her heart to flutter dangerously. No. Now was not the time to be thinking about such things, even if she did enjoy his hold on her.

"I think I'll be fine…"She trailed off, before reaching out with one arm in an attempt to stop Falco from resuming his battle with the ebony captive. "Falco no!"

She was too late however as the avian had landed a solid punch on the distracted lupine, following through with a sweep that took out the wolf's legs. As soon as he hit the ground, the pilot withdrew his blaster and pointed it at his enemies' head. "One false move and I take it clean off your shoulders, wolf boy."

--

_Cliffy time! Finally got that one done, not sure on how it came out. Personally I enjoyed writing it. Leave some nice reviews for me. KI_


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